History Spreads in Colton

Last weekend the newly formed Junior CAM club was recognized for completing its first summer pilot program, led by DR. G, museum board member and community advocate, and held at the Colton Area Museum. The pilot summer program ran each Saturday, throughout the months of June and July, during regular museum hours, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. The pilot program was designed as a community outreach for the Colton Area Museum (CAM), specifically for high school students. “We wanted to engage the students in a way that ties together the community at school with the community in the city of Colton,” says Dr. G, who also teaches history and computers at CHS. “The program has three main components,” explains Dr.G. First was to learn about the history of Colton. Students learned about the founding fathers, the name of Colton, and about our first city sheriff, Virgil Earp. Second was digital scrap-booking. Students gathered information about these topics, and created computerized documents and files that were put together into a digital newsletter. Third was community service. As a “junior” museum docent, students served as hosts for visiting guests during selected museum hours. Dr. G also notes that community service credit was earned from the Junior CAM club program to be used for class credit at school. “I really liked the seeing and learning about the old CHS yearbooks,” says Abigail Aguirre, 10th grade student from CHS. Being a member of the Junior CAM club gave her unlimited access to the collection. Dr. G, who completed the entire collection in 2012, says the CHS yearbook collection is not only a popular draw to the museum, but a “wonderful historical document of life in Colton from 1902 to the present.” Senior at CHS, Matthew Zamora said, “the best part of the summer program was seeing how the city of Colton has changed throughout the years.” After graduation, Matthew plans to attend college with a major in system engineering. Tammy Trieu, 10th grader, and former student of Dr. G’s music history class says, “I learned a lot from this experience.” She added, “I didn’t know much history about Colton, but now I know about the people who started the city.” Plans are currently being made to evaluate the Junior CAM club program and refine the curriculum. According to Dr. G, the goal is to gain museum board approval for a permanent sponsorship, and if successful, to launch a more comprehensive program next year, and in the future. “The Junior CAM club is a great program," says Dr. G, “and certainly contributes to the idea of developing future community leaders.” From the many students who signed up for the pilot program in May, four students, Abigale Aguirre, Jaime Flores, Tammy Trieu, and Matthew Zamora, ran the program through its completion. “These four students are simply amazing, and wonderful city citizens,” boasted Dr. G. “I look forward to having this program established for years to come.” Community residents and visitors alike are invited to visit the Colton Area Museum and see the many displays available. The CAM address is 380 N. La Cadena Dr. in Colton. Regular CAM hours are Wednesdays and Fridays from 1-4 p.m., and Saturdays 11 a.m.-2 p.m. For more information about the museum and it's programs, contact the museum at (909) 824-8814, or Dr. G at (909) 213-3730.